BOOST FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING WITH IPADS

iPads in language teaching foster learning mobility and students individual study paths, furthermore they enhance ubiquitous and self-regulated learning offering students a channel to share their own material promoting collaborative learning. In addition the use of educational technology enhances 21st century skills providing competences for work life.

Kajaani University of Applied Sciences has provided 25 iPads for language teachers to utilize in contact teaching. In this paper versatile applications and assignment types in face-to-face teaching sessions are presented with student feedback. Students were also encouraged to use their own handheld and other devices (BYOD/CYOD).

Enrichening face-to-face teaching sessions with iPads and relevant assignments students can be activated and involved in the learning process; parallel the teacher instead of being a traditional teacher becomes a facilitator. This paper present best practice and experiences on utilizing various applications to enhance students’ all language competences in contact teaching, furthermore the application are enlightened with appropriate assignments and their presentation styles in-class. In addition, authentic student projects are introduced with considerations on task design.